Hatbox



oct. 14, 1941. H. ERG, JR 2,258,582

HATBOX Filed Aug. 9, 1958 "50 f INVENTOR 45 Z5 i /9 Il V @l 252m uw ATTOR N EY Patented ct. i4, i941 Y. .HATBOX .Henry Berg,` Jr.,f Orange, N.J., assignor to Hat VCorporation of Amerie porationof Delaware a,Norwalk, Conn., a cor- .Application Augnst9, 1938, `Serial No. 223,786

1 Claim.

The present invention relates to :novel improvements in hat boxes andparticularly to cases for carrying hats, and other articles, especiallywhentravelling.

A primary object of the invention is the provision of a hat box .forstoring hats in a dustproof manner.

Another object of the invention is the provision of 1a rectangular.container for shipping hats and Which Will support and protect a hatplaced therein from being damaged.

A further object is the provision of a "hat box made of inexp-ensivematerial but of such stability that it will not `collapse even unde Afurther feature is the provision of means for selectively holding thegrip in a retracted position in which the grip is disposed substantiallyflat on the inner lid and Within the aperture in the outer lid `Withoutprojecting above the outer l5l surface thereof, and ,in an extendedposition in which the grip projects throughthe aperture in the outerli-d and above `the-outer surface thereof.

A further object of the invention is ,the provision Within a rectangularhat box of simple and inexpensive means for supportingboth the crown andthe brim of a hat.

This object is accomplished vaccording to the invention by providinginterior Walls `Within the hat box forming pockets or fillers therein,and a curved band secured to said fillers for'supporting the crown of ahat. Y

Another objectis the provision of a hat box .which may be easilyconverted into a travelling considerable pressure. l bag or the like.

Another object of the invention is the provi- A feature of the inventionfor attaining the sion of a cover which protects the side walls oflatter object is thel provision of hat-supporting the box from beingbentor crushed. means Within the hat box which are easily re- A feature ofthe invention, attaining these cbmovable therefrom-so as to obtain alarger storjects, is the provision of a rectangular box which `20 ageplace therein, vand which may be quickly reis open at `one end, with acover which fits into placed if the box is used for its primary purposesaid end intermediate the side Walls of the box of supporting andprotecting hats. to close the same, and means for supporting the Afurther object of the invention is the provicover in closing position atright angles to the sion of means within a hat box for supporting sidewalls. C25 the cover thereof, y

A further feature of the present invention is Another object is theprovision of means for the provision of a double Vcover for closing thestrengthening the cover and the side walls of hat box and increasing thestrength and stability the box to protect the same from being bent orthereof. crushed inwardly.

Another feature of the invention is the `provi- (3,0 `Still anotherobject of the invention is the prosion of an inner lid hinged to onesidewall of vision of means withina hat .box `foraccommothe box and anouter lid hinged `to another side dating and"lightly gripping the brimof a 'hat Wall and completely covering theinner lid when placed thereinto prevent the hat from moving they are `both in closing'position.Within the hat box.

Another object is the provision'of a box with An important feature ofthe 'present invention a hinged cover rand a grip thereon, which whenresides in the 4provision of a single pair of means carried by the grip,will remain in closed posifor accomplishing all of the threelast-mentioned tion Without the use of any interengagingIneobjectssimultaneously.

1 chanical locking means on the cover and the side These andstill otherobjects, features and adwallsof the box. 1' f1@ Vantages` of the presentinvention Will appear A further object is the provision of a box withfrom the 'following detailed description .and the a `grip for carryingthe same which may be redrawing, in which: tracted `so as not to projectabove `the outer sur- Figure l is a perspective view of `the hat boxVface of the box. according to the invention, in fully closed posi- Afeature resulting from the attainment of @-45 tion. y this object is theprovision of a grip on the inner Fig. 2 is a similar View of the box inopen lid and an aperture in the outer lid through position. v which thegrip extends when both lids are infclos- Fig. 3 is Va cross-section ofthe box in open ing position and one is superimposed upon the position.l other, V50 Fig. 4 is a cross-section ofthe box in closed position.

Fig. 5 is a top view of the open box shown in Fig. 2.

Before describing the Ipresent .improvements 5 `and mode of operation`thereof in detail it `should be understood that the invention is notlimited to the details of construction and arrangement of parts shown inthe accompanying drawing, which are merely illustrative of the presentpreferred embodiments, since the invention is capable of otherembodiments, and the phraseology employed is for the purpose ofdescription and not of limitation.

Referring to the drawing in detail, the hat box I comprises a pair ofside walls II, front and rear walls I2 and I3 and a bottom wall I4 allof which may consist of inexpensive material, such as cardboard or thelike, and are secured together to form a solid rectangular box having anopening I5 at its top.

A pair of vertical uprights I6 are provided within the box and serve athree-fold purpose. First, they locate the hat and prevent movementthereof within the box I0 during shippingysecond, they support andstabilize the side walls II so as to protect the same from being bent orcrushed inwardly; and, third, they support and protect .the cover Vofthebox as will be later described.

For accomplishing the first two purposes, uprights I6 are fixedlysecured along one of their narrower sides I1 to the inner surface ofside walls, and preferably also at their lower ends I8 to the bottomwall I4, and are positioned an equal distance from they rear wall I3which corresponds substantially to the thickness of the brim of a hatand the curl of such brim. By such spacing of uprights I6 from the rearwall I3, a hat may be inserted therebetweenso that the lower surface ofits brim Iafrests against the rear wall I3, where it is maintained insubstantially fixed position by uprights I6 acting upon the uppersurface of the hat brim I8a. Of course, uprights I5 may be spacedsuiciently from rear wall I3 to permit the insertion of cushioningmaterials, such as tissue paper, soft felt or the like, between the hatbrim I8a and the uprights as also between the brim and the rear wall I3.

For supporting the crown of a hat, a pair of U-shaped members I9 ofcardboard or similar light and'inexpensive material are provided at theopposite side walls II of the box I0 so as to form fillers or pockets29. These members I9 -which are of a height approximately threequartersof the height of side walls I I, each consists of a central portion 2Ithe upper edge 22 of which is curved downwardly to facilitate in'-sertion and particularly removal'of the hat from the box, and a pair ofside arms 23. Members I9 may be secured within the box either removablyor permanently. For example, as shown in the drawing, they may either befitted tightly but removably between uprights I6 and the front wall I2and be normally maintained in holding contact therewith by their ownresiliency; or they may be permanently secured by any suitable meansconnecting their side arms 23 with the uprights I6 and the front wallI2.

A semicircular downwardly curved band or strap 24 of Yrelatively stiffbut resilient material is secured at its outer ends 25 to the centralportion 2I of pockets I9 adjacent the upper edge 22 thereof, and, asshown in Fig. 4, serves to 'support the crown of a hat 24a when placedthereon. If, as previously indicated, members I9 and strap 24 constitutea removable unitk so that the box I0 may either be used for storing andtransporting hats or as a travelling case, such unit may be maintainedin a xed position within the box I9 by the resilience of the strap 24urging the members I9 outwardly and the outer ends of their arms 23against the side walls II, as also by the resilient pressure exerted byside arms 23 against uprights I6 and front wall I2. Members I9 togetherwith strap 24 may then be easily removed from the box I6 by withdrawingthem in upward direction. However, any other suitable kind ofdisengageable securing means may be provided in addition to thosementioned above for normally maintaining the members I9 and strap 24 intheir proper position within box I0.

The pockets 20, which are formed intermediate the side walls II of thebox and the U-shaped members I9, are provided for storing thereinvarious articles, particularly when the box I9 is to be used duringtravelling. Scarves, caps, handkerchiefs and other articles, and even ahat which has been folded or rolled together, may conveniently be placedinto these pockets and out or contact with the hat which rests on thestrap 24.

For closing the opening I 5 at the top of the box I0, the presentinvention provides a double cover 26 consisting of an inner lid 21 andan outer lid 28 which are pivotally secured to the upper edges 29 and 30of the front and rear walls I2 and I3, respectively, and aresuperimposed one upon the other when in closing position. As clearlyshown in the drawing, inner lid 21 is of a size substantially equal tothe size of the opening I5 and fits between the inner surfaces of theside, front and rear walls II, I2 and I3. A strip of tape 3I or the likeis cemented to the upper surface of the lid 21 adjacent the forward edgethereof and to the upper end 29 of the front wall I2 at the outer facethereof, as shown particularly in Fig. 3, to form a hinge for pivotingthe lid 21 into opening and closing positions.

For supporting the inner lid 21 in a closing position within the openingI5 with its upper surface 32 in a level plane with the upper edges 29,30 and 33 of the front, rear and side walls I2, I3 and I I, theinvention extends the uprights I6 upwardly so that their upper surfaces34 are spaced from the upper edges of the side walls II a distancesubstantially equal to the thickness of the inner lid 21. Thus, if lid21 is pivoted into a closing position, its lower surface 35 is laterallysupported by the upper ends 34 of uprights which protect not only theinner lid 21 but also the outer lid 28 from being bent or crushed.

For carrying the hat box I0 and for opening the inner lid 21, a grip 36is secured to the upper surface 32 thereof and preferably consists of athin strip of leather or similar material which may be pressed flat uponthe upper surface 32 of the lid, for example during shipping of the hatbox, or be extended into a curved shape as shown in Fig. 4, for carryingthe box I 0 thereby. For this purpose, grip 36 is provided with a pairof U-shaped cut-out portions 31 at opposite sides and near both ends ofthe grip 36. A pair of short straps 38 of narrower width than the widthof the cut-out portions 31 extend transversely over grip 36 at thecut-out portions 31 thereof and are tightly applied and secured to thelid 21 for example by rivets 39, the upper heads 40 of which arepositioned closely to the walls 4I of the cutout portions. Thus, eachend of the grip 36 is vcapable of sliding relative to straps 38 adistance substantially equal to the differencebetween the width of thecut-out portions 31 and the width of straps 38 from a at position shownin Fig. 1 in which the inner end walls 42 of the cut-outs 31substantially abut the inner edges of the straps 38, to an extended andarched position shown in Fig. 4 in Which the outer walls 43 of thecutouts 31 abut against the outer edges of the straps 38.

The outer lid 28 is provided with front and side Walls 44 which, Whenthe lid is in closing position, overlie the upper ends of the front andside Walls I2 and I I so that no dust can enter into the box I0. A strip45 of tape or the like is cemented to the upper end 3U of the rear WallI 3 at the outer face thereof, and to the upper surface 46 of the outerlid 28 adjacent the rear edge 41 thereof to form a hinge for pivotingthe lid 28 into opening and closing positions. An aperture 48 isprovided in the outer lid 280i a size to accommodate and receive thegrip 36 including the fastening straps 38 so that the outer lid mayfully overlie and be substantially in contact along its lower surface 49with the upper surface 32 of the inner lid 21 when both lids are inclosed position. Inasmuch as the outer lid 28 is of a thickness at leastequal to or even greater than the thickness of the grip and the heightof the straps 38 and rivets 39 from the upper surface of the inner lid21, none of these elements project above the upper surface of the outerlid 28 when the grip is in retracted position. Therefore, a plurality ofhat boxes I0 may be placed solidly one upon the other as there are noprojections on the outer surfaces of either the cover 26 or the bottomI4. A large number of hat boxes can thus be stored and transportedwithin a limited space Without requiring special means for fastening theindividual boxes to each other.

Inasmuch as the pivotally secured edge 41 of the outer lid overlies thefree edge 50 of the inner lid 21 when the cover 26 is in a fully closedposition, the outer lid 28 serves as a locking element for the inner lid21 and a considerable pull may be exerted upon the grip 36 Withoutdanger that either of the lids might be opened thereby. Such arrangementof the lids 21 and 28 has a decided advantage over a box with a singlelid which is secured in closed position by a mechanical lock, in thatthe box according to the invention can be opened or closed considerablyquicker, and merely by nipping the lids in one direction or the other.On the other hand, the two elements of a mechanical lock often do notregister when the lid is brought down upon the box, and require a time-Wasting effort for both closing and opening the same.

Furthermore, mechanical locks usually project above the outer surface ofthe respective element to which they are secured, and therefore, if aplurality of hat boxes provided with such locks are closely packedtogether, the lock of one box may easily damage the adjacent box andpierce through the Walls thereof. Because of the absence of any suchmechanical locks on the outer surfaces of the hat box according to theinvention, a plurality of such boxes may be packed closely against eachother without danger that the appearance of any of the boxes may therebybe damaged.

Variations and modifications may be made Within the scope of thisinvention and portions of the improvements may be used Without others.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

A dustproof box comprising a bottom; upright Walls having top edges,said Walls forming a top opening of a predetermined size; inner andouter lids pivoted respectively to the upper edges of opposite Walls forclosing said opening, said inner lid when in closed position restingsnugly Within said top opening in such a manner that the top surface ofsaid lid is substantially flush with the top edges of the upright wallsand the inner lid edges are contiguous to the wall inner surfaces;supporting and reinforcing means, comprising rigid upright supportsmounted upon the inside surfaces of the box Walls and terminating shortof the plane of the top opening a distance substantially equal to thethickness of the inner lid to support the inner lid in the said closedposition; a flexible handle on the inner lid; said outer lid when inclosed position closely engaging said inner lid and the top edges ofsaid upright walls in order to retain dust-excluding engagement evenwhen the box is lifted, said outer lid having anges for snugly touchingthe external surfaces of some of the upright walls, and said outer lidhaving an upper surface dening a plane constituting the upper extremityof said box; said outer lid having a recess for positioning said handlebelow said plane when the handle is in inoperative position.

HENRY BERG. J R.

